JPH05241351A - Planographic plate forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent an image forming surface from being flawed at the time of transporting a direct machine plate from a fixing section to an eluting section. CONSTITUTION:A transporting roller pair 56 inclined in the line connecting axes is disposed in an elution processing section 22. A machine plate guide roller 35 is provided adjacent to an ejection port 33 within an external case 21 of a developing and fixing processing section 18. The bottom end on the outer periphery of the machine plate guide roller 35 is positioned on the side lower than the upper edge 33A of the ejection port 33. The machine plate guide roller 35 is freely rotatably supported and is provided with an elastic material layer formed of soft rubber, etc., on the outer periphery. The curved direct machine plate 14 is bounded up by its own elasticity when the direct machine plate 14 is clamped with the transporting roller pair 56 and its rear end passes squeeze rollers 326 but the direct machine plate 14 moves while its front surface rotates the machine plate guide roller 35, and therefore the sliding of the image forming surface of the front surface on the upper edge 33A of the ejection port 33 is executed and the flawing of this surface are prevented.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a lithographic printing apparatus for developing a lithographic printing plate with a liquid developer and fixing the developed lithographic printing plate.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there is an electrophotographic plate making apparatus as a planographic forming apparatus having a drawing section, a development processing section, a fixing processing section, and an elution processing section. The lithographic printing plate made by this electrophotographic plate making apparatus is a thin plate electrophotographic printing plate, in which a photoconductive photosensitive layer is formed on one side of a plate of a conductive support such as aluminum, and the photoconductive photosensitive plate is formed. The layer side is the image forming surface.

The electrophotographic printing plate is charged by the charger of the drawing section, and an electrostatic latent image is formed by the laser beam. The direct printing plate on which the electrostatic latent image is formed is developed with a liquid developer composed of toner particles and carrier liquid in the development processing section. In this developing step, toner particles adhere to the image portion of the direct printing plate to visualize the electrostatic latent image. The developed electrophotographic printing plate is conveyed to the fixing processing section and heated by the radiant heat of the halogen lamp, and the toner particles are melted and fixed to the electrophotographic printing plate. The electrophotographic printing plate after fixing is conveyed to the elution processing section. In the elution processing section, an alkaline solution is applied to the electrophotographic printing plate to elute the photoconductive photoreceptor layer in the non-image area (that is, the non-image area other than the area where the toner image is formed) of the electrophotographic printing plate.

By the way, a rotary press for performing multicolor printing requires a plurality of electrophotographic printing plates corresponding to the colors, and an electrophotographic printing plate corresponding to each color. However, some colors may not be used depending on the print image. In this case, it is necessary to make a plate having no image, which is a so-called plate, and to mount it on a plate cylinder corresponding to a color that is not used. However, in the conventional electrophotographic plate making apparatus, the drawing section, the development processing section, the fixing processing section, and the elution processing section are integrally connected. There has been a waste of having to go through a series of processing steps from carrying in to fixing, and having to pass through the development processing section and the fixing processing section even though the plate has no image.

In order to solve the above-mentioned drawbacks, the present inventor has proposed a planographic printing apparatus capable of inserting a direct printing plate into the elution processing section midway (Japanese Patent Application No. 3-51).
92).

This planographic printing apparatus is provided with an insertion slot on the way, which enables the direct printing plate to be subjected to the elution processing without going through the developing and fixing processing section.

[0007]

A nipping roller pair for carrying a direct printing plate is provided in the vicinity of this insertion port inside the outer case of the elution processing section, and the nipping roller is located downstream of the nipping roller in the direct printing plate carrying direction. An elution treatment tank is provided on the lower side of the side. In this nip roller pair, since the direct printing plate must be conveyed toward the lower elution processing tank, the line connecting the center of rotation of the upper roller and the center of rotation of the lower roller is actually a vertical line. The upper roller and the lower roller are arranged so as to incline toward the elution treatment tank side.

Therefore, even if the direct printing plate is conveyed from any of the developing / fixing processing section or the insertion port, the center of rotation of the upper roller and the center of rotation of the lower roller are made to pass when passing through the nipping roller pair. It is conveyed in a direction at right angles to the connecting line, that is, obliquely downward and reaches the elution treatment tank. That is, the direct printing plate horizontally conveyed from the developing and fixing processing section is bent and conveyed downward by the nip roller pair.

By the way, when the trailing end on the downstream side in the conveying direction of the direct printing plate which has finished the developing and fixing process passes through the final nip roller pair of the developing and fixing processing section, the trailing end of the direct printing plate is flipped up by its elasticity. The image forming surface on the upper surface of the direct printing plate may move while being in contact with the upper edge of the carry-out port of the fixing processing unit, and may damage the image forming surface.

In view of the above facts, it is an object of the present invention to provide a planographic forming apparatus which does not damage an image forming surface when a direct printing plate is conveyed from a developing / fixing process to an elution processing section.

[0011]

The invention according to claim 1 is
A developing unit for developing the planographic printing plate with a liquid developer, a fixing unit for fixing the developed planographic printing plate, and carrying out the fixed planographic printing plate in a substantially horizontal direction by sandwiching it from the vertical direction. 1, a nipping roller pair, an outer case that covers the fixing portion, and a carry-out port that is provided on a side wall of the outer case on the downstream side in the transport direction of the planographic printing plate and through which the planographic printing plate is inserted.
The lithographic printing plate is provided on the downstream side in the transport direction of the carry-out port on substantially the same horizontal plane as the first nipping roller pair, and the line connecting the center of rotation of the upper roller and the center of rotation of the lower roller is perpendicular to the vertical line. And a second nipping roller pair that is inclined to the downstream side in the conveying direction and nips the lithographic printing plate with the upper roller and the lower roller, and curls the lithographic printing plate downward to convey the lithographic printing plate. The apparatus is characterized in that a roller whose outer peripheral lower end is projected downward from the upper edge of the carry-out port and is rotatable is provided in the vicinity of the carry-out port.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the planographic printing apparatus according to the first aspect, an elution treatment tank for elution-treating the planographic printing plate is provided on the downstream side of the second nipping roller pair in the conveying direction. In the upstream of the nip roller pair in the conveying direction and above the first nip roller pair, an intermediate insertion guide for halfway inserting the lithographic printing plate toward the second nip roller pair is provided. It has a feature.

[0013]

According to the planographic printing apparatus of the first aspect, the planographic printing plate is developed with the liquid developer in the developing section and then fixed in the fixing section. The first lithographic printing plate after fixing
It is nipped by a pair of nip rollers and conveyed in the horizontal direction. The conveyed planographic printing plate passes through the carry-out port of the outer case, reaches the second nipping roller pair, and is nipping by the second nipping roller pair, and is bent and conveyed downward. Here, the planographic printing plate conveyed by the first nip roller pair is the second
When the rear end portion of the lithographic printing plate on the downstream side in the transport direction passes through the first sandwiching roller pair, the lithographic printing plate is upstream of the second sandwiching roller pair in the transport direction. The position of the planographic printing plate jumps up, but the top surface of the planographic printing plate moves while rotating the roller. Therefore, when an image is formed on the upper surface of the lithographic printing plate, the upper surface of the lithographic printing plate is prevented from sliding on the carry-out port of the fixing unit, and the formed image is prevented from being damaged.

Further, according to the planographic printing apparatus of the second aspect, the planographic printing plate which is used for a so-called step printing plate and does not require the developing and fixing process is transferred to the second nipping roller pair along the midway insertion guide. By feeding toward, the elution processing is performed without passing through the developing and fixing processing step. That is, the planographic printing plate fed along the midway insertion guide is nipped by the second nip roller pair and carried into the elution processing tank, where the elution processing is performed.

On the other hand, a lithographic printing plate on which a normal latent image is formed is developed with a liquid developer in the developing section and fixed in the fixing section. The lithographic printing plate after fixing is nipped by the first nip roller pair and conveyed in the horizontal direction, passes through the carry-out port of the outer case, and then is nipped by the second nip roller pair. The planographic printing plate nipped by the second nip roller pair is curved downward and is conveyed into the elution treatment tank, where the elution treatment is performed.

[0016]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.

As shown in FIG. 2, the direct printing plate 14 as a lithographic printing plate used in this embodiment is a thin plate electrophotographic printing plate, and a photoconductive photosensitive layer is formed on one surface of a conductive support 28. The image forming surface 30 is formed. The conductive support 28 is made of an aluminum material and has a thickness of about 0.3 mm. In addition, the conductive support 28
Is subjected to a hydrophilic treatment on the interface with the photoconductive photosensitive layer 30. In this embodiment, an organic conductive photoreceptor is used as the photoconductive photosensitive layer 30.

As shown in FIG. 3, in the electrophotographic plate making apparatus 10 as the lithographic plate making apparatus to which the present invention is applied, the drawing section 16 is arranged on the upstream side of the direct printing plate 14 in the conveying direction, and the drawing is performed. In the direction of the arrow B in FIG.
2 are provided. In the direction of the arrow A in FIG. 3 of the plate discharging unit 12, the developing and fixing processing unit 18, the elution processing unit 22, and the drying unit 11 are provided.
7, the standby unit 118 is arranged in order, and the standby unit 118
In the direction opposite to the arrow B direction in FIG.
A plate bending portion 26 is provided.

(Drawing unit 16) As shown in FIG. 4, the drawing unit 16 is provided with a carrying table 32 on which the direct printing plate 14 is placed, and the carrying table 32 is shown in FIG. It can move in the direction of arrow A and in the direction opposite to the direction of arrow A. The direct printing plate 14 is placed on the carrier 32 with the photoconductive photosensitive layer 30 on the upper side and the longitudinal direction along the arrow A direction and the direction opposite to the arrow A direction (see FIG. 3).

The direct printing plate 1 is provided on the upper side of the drawing unit 16 in the arrow A direction in FIG. 4 and in the intermediate portion in the direction opposite to the arrow A direction.
Charger 3 for positively charging the photoconductive photosensitive layer 30 of No. 4
4 is provided, and an exposure unit 36 is arranged on the side of the charger 34 in the direction of arrow A in FIG. The exposure section 36 is provided with a semiconductor laser (not shown), and a laser beam is applied to the image section of the photoconductive photosensitive layer 30 after charging to scan and expose the image. The drawing unit 16 is provided with a holding claw (not shown) that discharges the exposed direct printing plate 14 to the plate discharging unit 12. The drawing unit 16 is covered with a cover (not shown) to prevent outside light from entering the inside.

(Plate Discharging Section 12) The plate discharging section 12 is provided with a conveyor device (not shown), and conveys the exposed plate material 14 to the developing and fixing processing section 18 in the direction of arrow A in FIG. The plate discharge unit 12 is also covered with a cover (not shown) like the drawing unit 16 so that outside light does not enter the inside.

(Developing and Fixing Processing Section 18) As shown in FIG. 5, the developing and fixing processing section 18 is provided with an outer case 21. The outer case 21 has a long box shape in which the direction of conveyance of the direct printing plate 14 (the direction of arrow A in FIG. 5) is long, and is in close contact with a cover (not shown) of the plate discharge section 12 to allow the plate discharge section 12 to come into contact with the plate. External light does not enter the inside between the developing and fixing processing section 18. The outer case 21 of the developing and fixing processing section 18 is provided with a hole 17 through which the direct printing plate 14 is inserted on the plate discharge section 12 side.

Inside the outer case 21, a developing section 38 is provided on the upstream side in the transport direction of the direct printing plate 14, and a squeeze section 40 is provided on the downstream side of the developing section 38. On the downstream side of the squeeze portion 40, a belt conveyor 126 is provided as a conveying means for conveying the direct printing plate 14 in the direction of arrow A in FIG. A drying unit 42 and a fixing unit 44 are provided on the upper side of the belt conveyor 126 along the arrow A direction in FIG. 5 from the upstream side in the transport direction of the direct printing plate 14 (the side opposite to the arrow A direction in FIG. 5). Therefore, a water cooling unit 300 is arranged on the downstream side of the fixing unit 44. (Developing Section 38) The developing section 38 is provided with a hollow frame body 446 that is open at both upstream and downstream ends in the transport direction of the direct printing plate 14.

The frame 446 is positioned such that the downstream side in the transport direction of the direct printing plate 14 is located lower than the upstream side and is inclined about 7 ° with respect to the horizontal. The frame body 446 is formed of an insulating material such as resin, and the developing electrode 4 is formed on the upper surface of the inner wall.
42 is attached. Developing electrode 442 and bottom 446
A developing chamber 447 is provided between the printer and C.

The plus side of the power source 445 is connected to the developing electrode 442. Further, below the upstream side and the downstream side of the frame body 446, a pair of ground terminals 448 connected to the negative side of the power source 445 are arranged. These ground terminals 448 come into contact with the conductive support 28 of the direct printing plate 14 when the direct printing plate 14 passes through the developing chamber 447.

A liquid feed nozzle 449 is arranged above the developing electrode 442 on the upstream side, and the developing liquid stored in a developer tank (not shown) at the time of the developing process passes through the liquid feed nozzle 449 to the developing chamber. 447.

The developing solution serves as a carrier liquid, a colorant for forming toner particles, a coating agent made of a polymer resin for fixing the colorant, a function of accelerating the dispersion of the toner particles, and a function of stabilizing the dispersion. And a charge control agent that controls the polarity and charge amount of the toner particles.

A conveying roller pair 420 is arranged on the upstream side of the liquid feeding nozzle 449, and the conveying roller pair 420 is arranged.
Is rotated by a driving unit (not shown) to convey the direct printing plate 14 into the developing chamber 447. Further, on the downstream side of the developing electrode 442, a pair of squeeze rollers 422 for squeezing out the excess developer adhering to the direct printing plate 14 is arranged. The squeezing roller pair 422 is composed of an upper roller 424 and a direct lower roller 426, and each is rotated by a driving unit (not shown) to sandwich the direct printing plate 14 from the front and back sides and horizontally in the direction of arrow A. Transport.

A developing solution receiver 450 is arranged below the squeezing roller pair 422, and the squeezed developing solution is collected in a developing solution tank (not shown) via the developing solution receiver 450. Further, an evaporation prevention cover 454 is provided above the developing solution receiver 450 so that the vapor of the developing solution does not scatter to the surroundings.

When the liquid developer is applied to the exposed direct printing plate 14, the electrostatic latent image of the direct printing plate 14 becomes visible. The development in the developing unit 38 is performed by reversal development, and the positively charged direct printing plate 14 is developed with toner having a positive charge. Further, the portion of the direct printing plate 14 to which the toner 19 is attached becomes lipophilic. (Squeeze Section 40) The squeeze section 40 is provided with an air knife 455 and a blower 456. The air knife 455 and the blower 456 are used as the squeezing roller pair 422.
Air is jetted to the surface of the direct printing plate 14 carried out from the. The blower 456 is a direct printing plate 14
The air is blown from the downstream side to the upstream side in the conveyance direction. (Belt Conveyor 126) A belt conveyor 126 is arranged downstream of the squeeze unit 40. The belt conveyor 126 has a pair of rotating shafts 5 arranged in the direction of arrow A in FIG.
10, 512 are provided. The rotary shaft 510,
One of the 512 is rotated in the direction of arrow C in FIG. 5 by a motor (not shown).

The axes of the rotary shafts 510 and 512 are horizontal and in the direction of arrow A and the direction orthogonal to the direction of arrow A (vertical direction in the plane of FIG. 5), and the longitudinal direction of the rotary shaft 510 (plane in the plane of FIG. 5). A pair of sprockets 514 (only one of which is shown in FIG. 5) having predetermined dimensions are attached to the middle portion in the vertical direction), and are arranged in the middle portion in the longitudinal direction (vertical direction in FIG. 1) of the rotary shaft 512. Is attached with a pair of sprockets 516 (only one of which is shown in FIG. 5) having a predetermined size.

The squeeze section 40 side of the belt conveyor 126 is a drying section 42, and an end dryer 459 and a dryer 458 for blowing warm air to the direct printing plate 14 are provided above the belt conveyor 126. The end dryer 459 blows warm air to the vicinity of the end of the direct printing plate 14, and the dryer 458 blows warm air over the entire width direction of the direct printing plate 14.

A fixing unit 44 is arranged downstream of the drying unit 42 in the conveying direction of the direct printing plate 14. Fixing unit 4
4 covers the upper side and the side of the belt conveyor 126,
A box-shaped cover 530 is provided. Cover 5
A notch 536 is formed in the vertical wall 532 on the arrow A direction side of 30 for the escape of the belt conveyor 126.
The notch 538 is also formed in the vertical wall 534 opposite to the direction.
Are formed.

Inside the cover 530, a plurality of halogen lamps 540 for heating the direct printing plate 14 are provided above the belt conveyor 126. Halogen lamp 5
40 is a long rod shape, and the longitudinal direction is the belt conveyor 12
6 in the width direction (direction perpendicular to the plane of FIG. 5). Further, above the halogen lamp 540, a reflection plate 542 that reflects the light of the halogen lamp 540 downward is disposed. Note that a wire (not shown) for protecting the halogen lamp 540 is horizontally stretched just below the halogen lamp 540. A blower fan 54 for introducing outside air is provided above the reflection plate 542 at the center of the inside of the cover 530.
4 is provided, and the air inside the air flows downward by the blower fan 544. (Water Cooling Unit 300) As shown in FIG. 6, a saucer 312 is arranged below the cooling unit 300.
A spray bed 31 that guides the direct printing plate 14 conveyed from the fixing unit 44 in the direction of arrow A in FIG.
4 is provided.

Each of the spray beds 314 has an L-shaped cross section with a vertical wall portion 314A on the upstream side in the transport direction of the direct printing plate 14, and has a predetermined gap in the transport direction of the direct printing plate 14. They are arranged parallel to each other.

Further, a water absorption pipe 318 is erected from the bottom of the tray 312. This water absorption pipe 318
Is bifurcated near the bottom of the saucer 312,
One is further branched into three, and the tip portion 318A of each branch portion
Are arranged along the lower portions of the three spray beds 314, respectively. The other side of the water absorption pipe 318 is branched into two at the upper part of the three spray beds 314,
The tip portions 318B of the respective branch portions are arranged along the gaps between the three spray beds 314, respectively.

Circular through holes 320 are formed at predetermined intervals along the axial direction (the direction perpendicular to the paper surface of FIG. 6) on the upper surface of the tip portion 318A of the water absorption pipe 318, and the upper wall portion of the spray bed 314 is formed. A circular through hole 322 is formed coaxially with the through hole 320 in 314B. On the other hand, in the lower portion of the tip portion 318B of the water absorption pipe 318, there is an axial direction (see
Circular through-holes 3 at predetermined intervals along
24 is provided as a spray nozzle.

The drainage pipe 318 penetrates the bottom of the tray 312 and extends downward, and a cooling water tank 328.
Has reached. Cooling water is filled in the cooling water tank 328, and this cooling water is pumped up into the water absorbing pipe 318 by the pump 330.

At the bottom of the tray 312, the recovery pipe 33 is provided.
The other end of the recovery pipe 332 reaches the cooling water tank 328, and the cooling water of the tray 312 can be recovered in the cooling water tank 328. .. A filter 334 is provided in the middle of the recovery pipe 332 to remove foreign matter in the cooling water.

A pair of squeeze rollers 326 are provided at the downstream end of the cooling section 300. The direct printing plate 14 is nipped by the squeeze roller 326 and conveyed horizontally in the direction of arrow A.

As shown in FIGS. 5 and 7, the outer case 2
1, an inclined portion 27 as a midway insertion guide is provided above the cooling portion 300. The inclined portion 27 has a downward direction on the arrow A direction side, and the direct printing plate 1 is provided on the upper surface.
A guide plate 29 and a guide plate 31, which are parallel to each other, are provided upright in a direction perpendicular to the transport direction of No. 4. The distance between the guide plate 29 and the guide plate 31 is slightly wider than the width of the direct printing plate 14. In addition, the inclined portion 2 of this embodiment
7 is inclined about 25 ° with respect to the horizontal.

The exterior case 21 is formed with an outlet 33 through which the direct printing plate 14 is inserted on a side wall 21A on the arrow A side. The carry-out port 33 has an elongated slit shape whose longitudinal direction is horizontal, and the upper edge portion 33A of the carry-out port 33 is located below the lower end portion 27A of the inclined portion 27.

As shown in FIG. 1, a plate guide roller 35 is provided inside the outer case 21 adjacent to the carry-out port 33. The plate guide rollers 35 have a longitudinal direction that is horizontal and a direction that is orthogonal to the transport direction of the direct plate 14. The outer peripheral lower end of the plate guide roller 35 is located below the upper edge portion 33A of the carry-out port 33 and in a horizontal plane passing between the pair of squeeze rollers 326.

The longitudinal dimension of the plate guide roller 35 is
The width of the direct printing plate 14 is longer than that of the direct printing plate 14, and both ends thereof are rotatably supported by a bearing plate 37 that is erected on the back side of the inclined portion 27 of the outer case 21. An elastic layer (not shown) made of flexible rubber or the like is provided on the outer periphery of the plate guide roller 35.

(Elution Processing Section 22) As shown in FIG. 8, the elution processing section 22 is provided with an elution processing section exterior case 23. The elution processing unit exterior case 23 has a box shape having a longitudinal direction in the direction in which the direct printing plate 14 is conveyed.
The elution processing unit exterior case 23 is provided with an insertion opening 25 through which a direct printing plate 14 is inserted through a side wall 23A on the elution processing unit 22 side.

Inside the elution-treatment part exterior case 23, an alkali solution is applied to the direct printing plate 14 so that the light of the non-image part of the direct printing plate 14 (that is, the non-image part other than the part where the toner image is formed) is exposed. An elution section 48 for elution of the electroconductive photoreceptor layer, a squeeze section 50 for removing an excess alkaline solution adhering to the direct printing plate 14, and a water washing section 5 for washing the squeezed direct printing plate 14 with water to remove the alkaline solution.
2. A gum solution application section 54 for applying a gum solution to the washed direct printing plate 14 is sequentially provided.

As shown in FIG. 1, a conveyance roller pair 56 as a second nipping roller is disposed in the elution treatment unit exterior case 23 near the insertion port 25. The pair of transport rollers 56 includes an upper roller 56A and a lower roller 56B, which are parallel to each other and have outer peripheries contacting each other. The longitudinal direction of each axial line of the upper roller 56A and the lower roller 56B (the direction perpendicular to the paper surface) is the conveying direction of the direct printing plate 14 (arrow A in FIG. 1).
Direction) and is horizontal. Further, a line connecting the center of rotation of the upper roller 56A and the center of rotation of the lower roller 56B (one-dot chain line D in FIG. 1) is inclined with respect to the vertical line (one-dot chain line V in FIG. 1) toward the elution section 48 side. .. In this embodiment, the line connecting the center of rotation of the upper roller 56A and the center of rotation of the lower roller 56B (dotted line D in FIG. 1) is in the range of 12.5 ° to 15 ° with respect to the vertical line (dotted line V in FIG. 1). It is said to be inside.

The contact point between the upper roller 56A and the lower roller 56B is substantially at the contact point between the pair of squeeze rollers 3 of the cooling section 300.
It is in a horizontal plane that passes between 26 and is located on an extension line of the inclined portion 27 of the outer case 21.

The upper roller 56A and the lower roller 56B
An elastic layer (not shown) made of flexible rubber or the like is provided on the outer periphery of the.

These upper roller 56A and lower roller 56
B is rotated in the direction of arrow E by a motor (not shown). Therefore, when the direct printing plate 14 that has passed through the squeeze roller 326 is sandwiched by the pair of transport rollers 56, the pair of transport rollers 56 bends downward from the horizontal direction and is transported obliquely downward.

As shown in FIG. 8, an elution treatment tank 68 filled with an alkaline solution is disposed obliquely below the conveying roller pair 56 in the direction of arrow A. Bottom part 68 of elution treatment tank 68
In A, the middle part in the direction of arrow A is recessed, and the elution treatment tank 6
Inside the 8, a plurality of lower surface supporting and conveying rollers 58 are provided along the bottom portion 68A. Further, the pair of transport rollers 56
An upper surface support roller 60 is provided above the lower surface support conveyance roller 58 in the vicinity, and an upper surface support roller 62 is provided above the lower surface support conveyance roller 58 on the arrow A direction side. Further, a nipping roller pair 61 is provided at an intermediate portion of the lower surface supporting and conveying roller 58 in the arrangement direction.

The direct printing plate 14 includes a lower surface supporting / conveying roller 58, an upper surface supporting roller 60, and a nipping roller pair 61.
And is immersed in the alkaline solution in the elution treatment tank 68. The alkaline solution in the elution treatment tank 68 is sucked by a circulation pump (not shown) and sprayed onto the direct printing plate 14 through the nozzle 86.

A roller-shaped brush 90 is arranged in the elution processing tank 68 at a position corresponding to the photoconductive photosensitive layer 30 of the direct printing plate 14. The brush 90 is connected to a rotation driving means such as a motor (not shown), and the rotation driving means rotates the brush 90.

Direct printing plate 14 rather than elution treatment tank 68
A squeeze portion 50 is arranged on the downstream side in the conveyance direction (the direction of arrow A in FIG. 8), and a pair of squeezing rollers 63 is arranged in this squeeze portion 50. The squeeze portion 50 is provided with a receiving portion 94, the direct printing plate 14 is sandwiched by a pair of squeezing rollers 63 to remove the alkaline solution adhering to the surface thereof, and the removed alkaline solution falls onto the receiving portion 94. Further, a pump (not shown) for returning the removed alkaline solution to the elution treatment tank 68 is connected to the receiving portion 94.

Direct printing plate 14 rather than squeeze unit 50
The washing section 5 is provided on the downstream side in the conveying direction (the direction of arrow A in FIG. 8).
2 are arranged. The water washing section 52 has a conveying roller 64.
Further, a roller-shaped brush 100 is provided, and a water receiving tank 102 is arranged below. Cleaning water is stored in the water receiving tank 102, and this cleaning water is sucked up by a pump (not shown) and sprayed onto the direct printing plate 14 through the nozzle 106. The brush 100 is arranged at a position corresponding to the photoconductive photosensitive layer 30 of the direct printing plate 14, and cleans the photoconductive photosensitive layer 30 of the direct printing plate 14.

A gum solution application section 54 is disposed downstream of the water washing section 52 in the transport direction of the direct printing plate 14 (direction of arrow A in FIG. 8). A conveying roller 66 is arranged in the gum solution application section 54. A gum solution tank 110 is provided below the conveying roller 66, and the gum solution tank 110 stores the gum solution. The gum solution in the gum solution tank 110 is sucked up by a pump (not shown) and sprayed from the nozzle 114 to the direct printing plate 14.

(Drying section 117)
The drying unit 11 is provided on the downstream side of the direct printing plate 14 in the transport direction.
7 is provided.

The drying section 117 is provided with a roller pair 115 for conveying the direct printing plate 14 to the standby section 118 and a dryer 116 for blowing warm air.
16, the direct printing plate 14 after the gum treatment is dried.

(Standby Unit 118) The standby unit 118 is provided with a conveyor device (not shown), which conveys the direct printing plate 14 in the direction opposite to the arrow B direction in FIG.

(Puncher 24) In the puncher 24, a punch (not shown) for forming a notch for positioning the direct printing plate 14 during plate mounting and the direct printing plate 14 are provided.
A conveyor device (not shown) that conveys the sheet to the plate bending section 26 is provided.

(Plate Bending Section 26) The plate bending section 26 is provided with a folding device (not shown) that bends both ends in the longitudinal direction of the direct printing plate 14 to a predetermined size.

The operation of this embodiment will be described below. As shown in FIG. 4, in the drawing unit 16, the unexposed direct printing plate 14 is placed on the transport table 32 with the photoconductive layer 30 facing upward and the longitudinal direction along the transport direction. The carrier 32 on which is mounted is moved in the direction of arrow A in FIG. 4 by a driving device (not shown). During this movement, the carrier 3
The photoconductive photosensitive layer 30 of the direct printing plate 14 on 2 is positively charged by the charger 34. Direct printing plate 1
When 4 is conveyed to just below the exposure unit 36, a laser beam corresponding to an original image emitted from a semiconductor laser (not shown) is applied to the surface of the photoconductive photosensitive layer 30. As a result, the incident portion where the laser beam is incident becomes conductive, and positive charges move from the surface of the incident portion of the photoconductive photosensitive layer 30 to form an electrostatic latent image corresponding to image information. ..

As shown in FIG. 3, the direct printing plate 14 on which the electrostatic latent image has been formed is clamped at its ends by a clamping claw (not shown), is conveyed to the plate discharging section 12, and is developed and fixed from the plate discharging section 12. It is delivered to 18.

In the developing / fixing processing section 18, the direct printing plate 14 has the positively charged toner particles in the liquid developer in the developing section 38 attached to the exposed portions of the photoconductive photosensitive layer 30.

As shown in FIG. 5, when the direct printing plate 14 reaches the squeeze portion 40, air is blown from the air knife 455 to the surface of the direct printing plate 14 to remove the excess developer adhering to the surface. Further, the blower 456 blows air from the downstream side in the transport direction of the direct printing plate 14 toward the upstream side.

Next, the direct printing plate 14 is placed on the belt conveyor 126 and conveyed to the drying section 42. Here, the direct printing plate 14 is dried with the toner moistened with the warm air of the dryer 458.

When the direct printing plate 14 is further conveyed and reaches the fixing portion 44, the direct printing plate 14 is heated by receiving the radiant heat of the halogen lamp 540. As a result, the toner adhering to the direct printing plate 14 is melted, fixed and fixed.

The direct printing plate 14 after the fixing process is
After that, it is conveyed to the cooling unit 300.

As shown in FIG. 6, the direct printing plate 14 conveyed to the cooling section 300 is conveyed along the spray bed 314 in the direction of arrow A in FIG. Also, the optical sensor 3
When the direct printing plate 14 is detected by 16, the pump 330 is operated by the control device. As a result, the cooling water in the cooling water tank 328 is pumped up, the cooling water is sprayed from the through hole 320 of the leading end 318A to the direct printing plate 14, and the direct printing plate 14 is also fed from the through hole 324 of the leading end 318B. Be sprayed on. Therefore, the direct printing plate 14 is quickly cooled.

The cooling water sprayed on the direct printing plate 14 is collected in the tray 312, foreign matters are removed by the filter 334 provided in the recovery pipe 332, and returned to the cooling water tank 328. After that, the direct printing plate 14 is squeezed by the squeeze roller 326 to squeeze out the cooling water and conveyed horizontally to the elution processing unit 22.

The transported direct printing plate 14 passes through the carry-out port 33 of the outer case 21, is sandwiched by the pair of transport rollers 56, is curved downward, and is transported into the elution treatment tank 68.

Here, the conveyed direct printing plate 14 is sandwiched by the pair of conveying rollers 56, and when the rear end portion of the direct printing plate 14 on the downstream side in the conveying direction passes the squeeze roller 326, the curved direct printing plate 14 is curved. Although it jumps up due to its elasticity, the upper surface of the direct printing plate 14 moves while rotating the printing plate guide roller 35. As described above, in the direct printing plate 14, the image forming surface on the upper surface does not come into contact with the upper edge portion 33A of the carry-out port 33 and does not slide, so that the image forming surface is not damaged. The rear end portion of the direct printing plate 14 that has passed through the plate guide roller 35 is
Since it reaches the conveying roller pair 56 through the locus shown by the imaginary line F in FIG. 1, it does not come into contact with the upper edge portion 33A of the carry-out port 33.

Thereafter, the direct printing plate 14 is sandwiched by the pair of transport rollers 56, transported into the elution treatment tank 68, and immersed in the alkaline solution.

Further, in the case of producing a streak plate, the direct printing plate 14 on which an image is not formed is slid along the inclined guide 27 and fed toward the conveying roller pair 56, thereby omitting the developing and fixing process step. The elution treatment can be performed with an alkaline solution.

The direct printing plate 14 dipped in the alkaline solution has a photoconductive photosensitive layer 30 on which toner is not attached.
, I.e., non-image areas are eluted. At this time, the photoconductive photoreceptor layer 30 of the direct printing plate 14 is rubbed by the brush 90 to promote the elution reaction. By this elution treatment, the surface of the direct printing plate 14 to which the toner is not attached exposes the surface of the conductive support 14 which has been subjected to the hydrophilic treatment.

After the elution treatment, the direct printing plate 14 is squeezed by the squeeze unit 50 between the squeezing roller pair 63 and the alkaline solution adhering to the surface thereof. The squeezed alkaline solution drops into the receiving portion 94 and accumulates therein. Further, the alkaline solution accumulated in the receiving portion 94 is returned to the elution treatment tank 68 by the pump.

The squeezed direct printing plate 14 is conveyed to the water washing section 52, and the washing water is sprayed from the nozzle 106. Further, the direct printing plate 14 is rubbed by the brush 100 to completely remove the attached alkaline solution.

When the direct printing plate 14 is conveyed and reaches the gum solution applying section 54, the gum solution is jetted from the nozzle 114 and the gum solution is applied to the direct printing plate 14. When the direct printing plate 14 after the gum treatment is conveyed and reaches the drying section 117, the direct printing plate 1 is heated by the hot air of the dryer 116.
The gum solution adhering to 4 is dried. As a result, the non-image portion of the direct printing plate 14 (portion to which toner is not attached) is made hydrophilic.

The direct printing plate 14 processed by the elution processing unit 22 is then temporarily waited by the waiting unit 118, and is sent to the puncher unit 24 after the plate inspection work and the like, and is positioned by a punch (not shown) for positioning during printing. A notch is formed.

The direct printing plate 14 having the notches for positioning formed in the puncher portion 24 is bent at a predetermined size at both ends in the longitudinal direction of the direct printing plate 14 by a folding device (not shown) of the plate bending portion 26. Thus, the plate making process of the direct printing plate 14 is completed.

As described above, in the electrophotographic plate making apparatus of this embodiment, the direct printing plate 14 which does not require the developing and fixing process can be carried into the elution processing section 22 through the tilt guide 27, and the developing and fixing process can be carried out. Direct printing plate 14
Does not damage the image forming surface due to the upper surface sliding on the upper edge portion 33A of the carry-out port 33 because the upper surface moves by rotating the plate guide roller 35.

In the above embodiment, the present invention is applied to the electrophotographic plate making apparatus, but it goes without saying that the present invention may be applied to a planographic forming apparatus other than the electrophotographic plate making apparatus.

[0083]

As described above, since the planographic forming apparatus of the present invention has the above-mentioned configuration, there is no fear of damaging the image forming surface of the planographic printing plate when the planographic printing plate is conveyed from the fixing section to the elution treatment tank. It has an excellent effect.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partial cross-sectional view of a developing / fixing processing section and an elution processing section showing the vicinity of a splash prevention roller of an electrophotographic plate making apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing the structure of a direct printing plate used in the electrophotographic plate making apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a plan view showing an arrangement of processing units of an electrophotographic plate making apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

4 is a cross-sectional view showing a drawing unit in FIG.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view showing a developing and fixing processing section of the electrophotographic plate making apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

6 is a cross-sectional view showing the cooling unit of FIG.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing the vicinity of an inclined portion of the outer case of the developing and fixing processing unit.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view showing an elution processing section and a drying section of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Electrophotographic plate making device (lithographic printing plate making device) 14 Direct printing plate (lithographic printing plate) 21 Outer case 21A Side wall 27 Inclination part (midway insertion guide) 33 Outlet port 35 Plate making guide roller (roller) 38 Developing part 44 Fixing part 56 Second nipping roller pair 56A Upper roller 56B Lower roller 68 Elution treatment tank 326 First nipping roller pair

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A developing unit for developing a lithographic printing plate with a liquid developer, a fixing unit for fixing the developed lithographic printing plate, and the lithographic printing plate after fixing being sandwiched from the vertical direction to be substantially horizontal. A first nipping roller pair to be carried out in a direction, an outer case that covers the fixing portion, a carry-out port that is provided on a side wall of the outer case on the downstream side in the transport direction of the planographic printing plate, and through which the planographic printing plate is inserted, The lithographic printing plate is provided on the downstream side in the transport direction of the carry-out port on substantially the same horizontal plane as the first nipping roller pair, and the line connecting the center of rotation of the upper roller and the center of rotation of the lower roller is perpendicular to the vertical line. And a second nipping roller pair that is inclined to the downstream side in the conveying direction and nips the lithographic printing plate with the upper roller and the lower roller to bend the lithographic printing plate downward and convey the lithographic printing plate. In the device, the lower end of the outer circumference is the carry-out port The lithographic creating apparatus characterized by a roller which is rotatable protrudes downward from the upper edge is provided in the vicinity of the outlet port. 2. An elution processing tank for elution-treating a lithographic printing plate is provided on the downstream side of the second nipping roller pair in the carrying direction, and on the upstream side of the second nipping roller pair in the carrying direction and on the first side. 2. The planographic printing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a midway insertion guide that is inserted above the pair of nipping rollers to insert the planographic printing plate midway toward the second nipping roller pair.